Not a Cat Person
by The Emcee
Summary: Dabi had never really liked cats. Actually, he never really cared for animals in general. After joining the League of Villains and gaining the love of their neko, Izuku, he just might change his mind.


Title: Not a Cat Person

Rating: K+

Pairing: Dabi/Midoriya Izuku

Summary: Dabi had never really liked cats. Actually, he never really cared for animals in general. After joining the League of Villains and gaining the love of their neko, Izuku, he just might change his mind.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

A/N: I was originally going to write a Shinso/Izuku fic, but I've got Dabi on the brain lately. It probably doesn't help that he's been one of my go-to characters in _My Hero One's Justice_. As a result, this fic was born. Feel free to leave a comment in the towel section down below and enjoy.

 **~…~**

 **Not a Cat Person**

 **~…~**

Dabi had never really liked cats. Actually, he never really cared about animals period. They just existed, and as long as they didn't annoy him or get in his way, he could care less about them. He didn't hurt them or anything; he just ignored them all together (expect bugs. Fuck bugs).

That's why he was surprised and mildly intrigued when he noticed the neko at the bar, helping Kurogiri with the dishes. During his first visit, the neko had been nowhere in sight, but now that he was a member of the League, he was there. Perhaps the neko had been somewhere else in the building, or perhaps Dabi just hadn't been paying close enough attention, too annoyed by Shigaraki to notice him.

Regardless, the neko was there now and for some odd reason Dabi found him…intriguing. He had heard of nekos before, quirkless people who, for some strange reason, were born with the ears and tails of a cat and who had some mannerisms like them. Some could speak, some couldn't, and only a small percentage of the quirkless were nekos.

How lucky for the League of Villains to have a neko of their very own.

The neko was a small male with green hair and eyes and black ears and tail. He wore a plain t-shirt and jeans, with an apron tied around him as he did whatever Kurogiri asked of him. Dabi noticed that whenever Kurogiri addressed the neko, his tone of voice would change ever so slightly, hardly noticeable unless someone was actively listening for it; it was a tone that held fondness and love. That struck him as a bit odd. They were villains, after all; they didn't have feelings such as love, right?

Kurogiri noticed Dabi staring at the neko as he cleaned the glasses behind the counter.

"Shigaraki found Izuku when he was barely four. He's very protective of him," Kurogiri told Dabi, an unsaid, _'and so am I_ ' hanging in the air between them.

"Is that so?" Dabi asked, not really listening or paying attention, his focus still on Izuku.

"Yes, it is. He helps out around the bar, but he isn't an actual part of the League," Kurogiri explained further. "Now that you've joined our ranks and as such will be staying here, you'll be seeing him very frequently."

"Huh," was all Dabi could reply with. Kurogiri turned to Izuku.

"Izuku, please show Dabi to his room," he ordered, his voice not unkind.

At that, the neko placed his towel on the countertop and scurried around the bar to where Dabi sat. His big green eyes shone brightly as he beamed up at Dabi with a smile brighter than the sun. He tugged gently on Dabi's jacket as he pointed to the dark doorway on the opposite side of the bar.

Almost begrudgingly, Dabi stood up and followed the small neko towards the doorway. Beyond the frame was a hallway ending in a staircase. Izuku escorted him down the hall and up the stairs, to a second floor full of doors, all of which were closed. As they walked down the second floor hall, Dabi noticed the tip of Izuku's tail was flicking back and forth and he seemed to have a spring in his step. Was he always like this, full of energy? Dabi somehow doubted that.

Izuku stopped at the last door on the left. He opened it up and revealed a normal, sparsely furnished room that had a bed, a dresser, and a night table in it. It was nothing fancy and Dabi preferred it that way. Before he could enter his new room, Izuku was tugging him to the left and the door beside his own. Opening it, Izuku pointed to himself and then the room, his bright smile still on his face. Dabi peered inside. The room looked a lot more lived in than his own, with clothes and blankets and books strewn about the small space.

"This is your room?" Dabi asked. Izuku nodded happily. He turned around and pointed at the closed door across from his room. After pointing, he brought his right hand to his face, covering it.

"And that's…Shigaraki's room?" Dabi guessed. Again, Izuku nodded.

Dabi sighed. Great. So, he'd be close to that jerk off. Well, he supposed he could deal with it. After all, he was part of the League now; he could tolerate Shigaraki, right? He ran a hand through his black hair and made to go into his room, but stopped before doing so.

"Uh, thanks, kid," he said and hesitantly ruffled Izuku's hair. He had no idea why exactly he did that; he wasn't normally an affectionate person. There was just something about Izuku that drew him in.

If Dabi showed any unease, Izuku didn't show that he noticed. In fact, his green eyes were closed and he was purring, leaning into Dabi's touch. That piqued his interested. Did Izuku not receive enough affection here? Somehow, he doubted it; gathering from what little information Kurogiri gave him, Shigaraki cared for the neko, so he probably doused him with affection. More importantly, though, why did Dabi care about that? Typically, he wouldn't, so why did he?

Withdrawing his hand, he turned and entered his room, closing the door behind him. It was late and his was tired. That was why he was acting oddly and having strange thoughts. A little rest would do him good.

 **~…~**

Barely two weeks after he joined the League, Dabi heard a knock at his bedroom door late one night. With a groan, he got out of bed and opened the door, only to find Izuku standing before him in his pajamas, a t-shit that was far too big for him and a pair of shorts. His hair was a mess, his ears were flattened just a bit, his body was shaking, and he was crying.

It was obvious to Dabi that Izuku had had a nightmare.

Normally, he wouldn't give a shit. Why would he? No one in the League of Villains meant anything to him; they were merely the means to an end. But Izuku wasn't a villain; he was their…pet? Could he even be called that? Was that accurate? He didn't know; all Dabi did know was that he found himself enraptured by the sweet neko. That was why Dabi found it impossible to tell him 'no' that night.

"Come on in. You can sleep with me," Dabi said with a sigh, moving aside to allow Izuku to enter. The neko did so quickly and all but bolted to the bed, diving beneath the covers.

"But I don't cuddle," Dabi told him, trying to sound firm while he climbed into bed beside Izuku. Pulling the covers up, he turned onto his side and faced towards the closed door. It wasn't long before he fell asleep.

When he woke up that morning, his body was curled around Izuku's smaller one and he groaned.

 **~…~**

After that, Dabi found himself sharing his room with Izuku more times than not. So often did the neko come to him during the night either before or after lights out that it was weird when he didn't sleep beside Dabi. And while he would never say so out loud, Dabi enjoyed having Izuku sleeping beside him. It made him swell with pride and something else, something he could quite put his finger on.

Shigaraki didn't seem to like that Izuku liked Dabi. Every time Dabi would enter the bar, he would scowl at him and that scowl worsened every time Izuku approached him, smiling as bright as ever. That didn't bother Dabi, however; actually, it only gave him more incentive to like the neko. Knowing that he was taking Izuku away from Shigaraki was enough to keep him satisfied.

Kurogiri, whenever Shigaraki wasn't around, often warned Dabi about his growing attachment to Izuku. Apart from not wanting to lose Dabi, he also didn't want more damage to be done to the bar than what had already been done to it. Plus, he cared for Izuku and often kept an eye on the two of them when they were in the bar. Not that Izuku slacked off from his chores; he was always on top of them, something that made Kurogiri very proud. But he could see how close the pair had gotten in such a short amount of time. It concerned him.

Dabi didn't care about what either one of them thought. They could both kiss his ass to be honest. He wasn't there to make friends, with the one exception being Izuku, but he hadn't really had a say in that one. Izuku was bound and determined to follow him around and take up his time when he didn't have chores to do and when Dabi wasn't busy doing whatever nonsense Shigaraki told him to do.

Two months after he had joined the League, Dabi was once again woken up in the middle of the night. Growling in irritation, he got out of bed and stalked toward the door. Upon opening it and seeing Shigaraki standing before him, his scowl deepened.

"What do you want, asshole?" he growled.

"Have you seen Izuku? He's not in his room?" Shigaraki ground out, his irritation as plain as the hand on his face.

"Yeah, I have," Dabi answered, smirking ever so slightly. He moved aside briefly and pointed over his shoulder at the bed. "He's sleeping with me."

"What?! Why?!" Shigaraki seethed, his red eyes narrowed into slits. Dabi shrugged, not at all intimidated by the shorter man.

"I dunno. Maybe he just likes me more than you, hand-job," he said nonchalantly.

"What did you-" Shigaraki began, but Dabi cut him off.

"If that's all you wanted, good night," he said and closed the door, locking it behind him.

He knew that if Shigaraki really wanted to, he could just decay the door and get inside, but he wouldn't do that. Kurogiri would have his head if Shigaraki broke something else in this rundown place. Plus, the guy wouldn't do anything so rash and violent if there were even a slight chance of Izuku getting hurt as a result.

With that mess taken care of, Dabi returned to bed. After getting under the covers, he wrapped his arms around Izuku's slumbering frame and pressed his face into the soft, green hair, nuzzling it affectionately. He was asleep in no time.

After waking up and entering the bar area, Dabi was shoved roughly against the wall by Shigaraki, who looked downright homicidal. He looked even more like crap than he normally did, and that was saying a lot. Dabi suspected that he didn't get much sleep after seeing his favorite neko in someone else's bed.

"You keep your filthy hands off of Izuku," Shigaraki told him. Dabi arched an eyebrow, clearly unimpressed.

"Why should I? Izuku's allowed to like whoever he likes. It's not my fault I'm more attractive than you," Dabi countered.

"He's been mine since I found him and I'm not going to let you take him," Shigaraki spat.

"Izuku's his own person; he's not some animal. He can choose whoever he wants to, jackass," Dabi said, grabbing Shigaraki's hand and shoving it off of his jacket and away from him. The shorter man stumbled back.

"You arrogant asshole," Shigaraki snapped before charging towards Dabi.

Having been around him more in the past two and a half months, Dabi knew how Shigaraki attacked. He had had plenty of opportunities to watch him in the field, after all. Without much effort, Dabi sidestepped Shigaraki's attack and hit him in the back with a fistful of blue flames. That didn't seem to faze the other; Dabi had to give it to Shigaraki, the guy knew how to take a hit and keep on going.

They fought like that for a few minutes, dodging attacks and landing a few hits when they could, neither one gaining the upper hand over the other. A few chairs were broken on the floor, some of their remains splintered and scattered everywhere. There were a few holes in the walls, floor, and a few tables, the remnants of rot still slowly eating away at their surfaces. Both Shigaraki and Dabi were sweaty and panting and they were ready to end this squabble once and for all, neither one willing to back down until the other was dead.

Summoning his strongest blue flames, Dabi charged at Shigaraki just as the other came at him. Before they were even able to meet each other halfway, however, Izuku came rushing into the room, hair disheveled from sleep and his pajamas rumpled and wrinkled. He didn't even hesitate to put himself between the two of them, his eyes pleading at them both to stop fighting. Immediately, Dabi shook his flames off of his hand, evaporating them into nothingness. Shigaraki pulled his hand back and halted his movement, his visible eye focused solely on the neko between them.

"Izuku, get out of the way! I need to teach Dabi a lesson," Shigaraki commanded, his tone demanding, but not unkind. Just like Kurogiri, he was never harsh or cruel to the neko.

Izuku shook his head and stood in front of Dabi, clearly shielding him from Shigaraki. Frustration ebbed off of the man and he scratched at his neck. But Izuku still didn't budge, and although tears shone in his bright green eyes, there was also determination present as well.

"Do you really like him that much?" Shigaraki asked Izuku, sounding equally frustrated and almost heartbroken. The neko merely nodded his head and took a step back toward Dabi, who reached out and gently took hold of Izuku's wrist, preparing to push him out of the way should Shigaraki lose control of himself.

But that wouldn't be necessary. Despite how frustrated he obviously was, Shigaraki sighed and his shoulders slumped. He walked towards them until he was in front of Izuku. His one visible red eye softened, as it always did whenever he looked at Izuku. Raising a hand, Shigaraki gently scratched behind Izuku's ears, being careful to keep one finger held up at all times as he did so. It was a something he had had plenty of practice at in the past decade.

"I can't say no to you," Shigaraki said to Izuku. Izuku purred softly and placed a hand over top of Shigaraki's own, a gesture to reassure him that he wasn't leaving. He just had a crush on Dabi and wanted to see where it could lead. Apparently, Shigaraki could tell that and he sighed heavily before looking up at Dabi.

"If you hurt him in anyway, you will die," Shigaraki said flatly, leaving no room for argument.

"I don't plan on dying any time soon," was all Dabi said in response. Shigaraki scowled at him before he withdrew his hand from Izuku's head.

"I still hate you, asshole," he grumbled before leaving the bar.

Dabi shook his head. That guy was something else. Izuku turned around and tilted his head to the side, a look of concern on his face. A small smile spread across Dabi's face, hard to see due to his stitches, but he knew Izuku knew it was there.

"I'm fine. Shigaraki isn't tough enough to hurt me," Dabi reassured him, knowing that he was partly right. That answer seemed to satisfy Izuku because he smiled and snuggled up against his side, purring softly. Dabi ran his fingers through that soft, silky green hair and held the neko close.

At the same time, Kurogiri walked into the bar. Looking around, he released a defeated sigh and leveled Dabi with a cold stare.

"Again?" he asked.

Dabi merely shrugged and sat down at one of the tables still standing. He released Izuku and nudged him towards the shadow villain.

"He's gonna need your help today," Dabi said, trying, and failing, to keep the smirk out of his voice.

"He's not the only one helping," Kurogiri said. "Get up and clean up your mess."

Dabi knew better than to argue with the guy. At least he'd be able to catch glimpses of Izuku bent over while they cleaned.


End file.
